Critical Notes

Anne Trubek reviews Jonathan Lethem’s essay collection The Ecstasy of Influence for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. Lizzie Skurnick is writing a mini-column called “That Should Be a Word” for the New

And the lists begin: Publishers Weekly has published its choices for the best books of 2011. Kerri Arsenault is writing a new column for Bookslut called “Locus Pocus,” about books

Standalone book review sections are contracting expanding: Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the Chicago Tribune is looking into launching a premium literary review section. Michael O’Donnell reviews Supreme Court Justice

The Los Angeles Review of Books (see our Q&A with editor Tom Lutz) is launching a series of ebooks collecting some of its essays and interviews. Julia M. Klein reviews

With the National Book Award finalists announced last week, Salon’s Laura Miller argues that the awards have made themselves irrelevant. Bookforum reports that Renata Adler’s 1976 novel Speedboat, which NBCC

David L. Ulin looks at the poetry of Tomas Transtromer, winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in literature, at the Los Angeles Times. Scott Esposito, founder of the literary website

William Deresiewicz tees off on Harold Bloom’s reputation in general and his latest book, The Anatomy of Influence, in particular in the New Republic. “To say that [Harold] Bloom has

Parul Sehgal, winner of the 2011 Balakian award, reviews Aatish Taseer’s Noon for the New York Times Book Review and Paul Hendrickson’s biography Hemingway’s Boat for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Adam Kirsch (in the Wall Street Journal) and Laura Miller (in Salon) consider why the definitive 9/11 novel has yet to be written (and if it can be). How much